Variable angle card deck support



NOV. 7, E MAR|NG ETAL VARIABLE ANGLE CARD DECK SUPPORT Filed 00 1:. 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 |NVENTORS BLAYNE E MARING WILLIAM J. PENDY JR. CHARLES H GRIMM JOEL s aonmsou NOV. 7, 1967 MARlNG ET AL 3,351,341

VARIABLE ANGLE CARD DECK SUPPORT Filed Oct. 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet z United States Patent 3,351,341 VAREAELE ANGLE CARD DECK SUPPORT Blayne E. Mating, William J. Pendy, Jr., Charles H. Grimm, and Joel S. Johnson, Rochester, Minn, assignors to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,827 6 Claims. (Cl. 271-87) This invention relates to a stacking device for receiving cards or the like which are stacked on edge within a suitable receptacle, and more particularly to means for varying the angle of inclination of the card stack to prevent the cards from falling over in the stacker under certain conditions.

The present invention is an improvement on the card stacker set forth in United States Patent 2,964,314, to Michael Fiehl, issuin on Dec. 13, 1960, and assigned to the common assignee, but has application to various types of card stackers in which the cards are stacked on edge.

In such stacking devices, the cards move serially into the stacking receptacle in flatwise fashion, and are rotated by various static guides to an edgewise position, whereupon they are dropped on edge into a stacked array. In the stacker referred to above, a stationary support member is located within the receptacle to momentarily arrest the descent of the flatwise dropping cards, along one edge. A guide member spaced radially from the arresting support member, coacts therewith to produce a turning and edgewise dropping of the cards to the bottom of the receptacle. A follower type stack support member is slidably mounted on the base of the receptacle and sustains the edgewise dropped cards on edge and in stacked array. A pusher located on the base of the receptacle operates to mechanically compress the stacked cards, and to move the stack away from the point of card entry as the size of the stack increases. To enhance the edgewise dropping of the cards, the pusher means may also include additional means for vibrating the guide members.

Such radial stackers using a fixed deck support have not, been completely satisfactory since the cards tend to fall backwards in the stacker under certain conditions. For instance, since code requirements for punched cards vary, some particular codes require heavier punching per card than previously encountered. Due to the fibrous and somewhat plastic nature of the card around the punched hole, heavily punched decks or stacks become springy or spongy. In the radial stacker of the type disclosed above, the cards are pushed away from the transport by a card pusher which applies a force to the bottom of the deck. This characteristic, coupled with the springiness of the deck, results in compressing the bottom of the stack while the top tends to fan. Card fanning has resulted in cards falling back into the radial guides causing a jam. Changing the angle of the deck support has not eliminated this problem as the cards do not fall properly in an essentially empty pocket. Further, even with an angled deck support, card fanning is an important factor in determining stacker capacity.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a card stacker for stacking cards on edge in a suitable receptacle, which eliminates card fall-over from fanning, regardless of the size of the card stack.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved drop-type stacker with card fanning compensation, in which compensation is directly proportional to stack size.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved drop-type stacker including means for compen- 3,351,341 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 sating for card fanning, in which the compensation may be readily varied depending upon the characteristics of the cards being stacked or the punch pattern carried thereby.

It is another object of this invention to provide card fanning compensation for a drop-type stacker which acts to additionally increase stack capacity.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advan tages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a card stacking receptacle incorporating the variable angled card deck support of the present invention with one side wall cut away to expose the details of the interior construction.

FIGURE 2 is an end view of a portion of the apparatus taken along lines 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1 with the stack support means in an extended position to support a relatively large card deck.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3 illustrating, in detail, the horizontally movable slide and the variably inclined deck reraining member.

In general, the present invention comprises an improvement in a stacking device for cards which employs a receptacle having a vertical card receiving channel and a base member at the bottom thereof. Such receptacles include means for supporting the dropped cards vertical- 1y on edge, at a slight angle away from the direction of card entry. The improvement consist-s in means for increasing the angle of inclination of the card deck as the card deck increases in size and moves away from the point of entry.

In a specific embodiment, the deck supporting means comprises a slide which is moved horizontally away from the point of entry and includes an inclined, vertical, deck retaining member pivotably coupled thereto. The deck retaining member carries a cam follower in the form of a roller which rides on a wedge-type, declining cam, fixed to the base member.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIGURES l and 2, the stacking device receptacle 10 of the present invention having a horizontal base 12 and a pair of side walls 14 and 15, which are preferably flat side plates having their planes arranged parallel to each other and transverse to the direction of advance of the cards from the card feeding means( not shown). As the cards enter the receptacle It in serial fashion at high speed, they are momentarily supported in a horizontal or flatwise position by the card support member 16. Member 16 consists essentially of a bent plate having a vertical section 18 fixed to transport side rail 17 and projecting laterally thereof, and a downwardly angled section 20 which prevents the card from moving forwardly; that is, in a direction from right to left as indicated in FIGURE 1. As a card enters the receptacle 10, it impacts upon the inner surface of member 16, and the leading edge of the card slides downwardly over the end of section 20. In falling, the trailing edge of the cards contacts a guide plate member 22 .at the rear of receptacle iii. The cards, therefore, tend to pivot about the end of guide section 20 with the trailing edge of the card remaining at a generally constant radial distance from the terminal edge of the card support member 16. While the guide plate member is shown as constituting a straight line element 22, it may be curved to reorient the card from its fiatwise entrance position to a vertical or on-edge position with respect to base member 12.

Reference to FIGURE 2 shows a pair of separated, U- shaped channel members 24 and 26 which are fixedly positioned adjacent side Walls 14 and 15, respectively. The opposed openings thereof form upper and lower tracks 28 and 30, respectively, which receive Teflon or nylon lugs 32 carried at the transverse extremities of the card slide of shelf member 34. The nylon elements 32 are carried at all four edges of the card slide 34, and are received within slide recesses 36, as indicated best in FIG- URE 4. The slide member 34 moves quite easily in a horizontal direction, confined by upper and lower track surfaces 28 and 34 The slide is biased in the retracted position or toward the right, FIGURE 1, by tension coil spring 38. The forward end of the card slide 34 is provided with a rectangular recess 40, FIGURE 4, forming spaced, parallel supporting sections 42. Transverse, aligned bores 44 are provided within these sections for receiving respective pivot pins 46 having a diameter in the order of the bore. The aligned pins 46 act to pivotally support the variably angled card deck support or retainer member 48. This assembly includes a single element card deck support pivot member or bracket 50 including a pair of spaced side walls 52 which are apertured at the bottom forward edge and receive the inner ends of pivot pins 46. The side walls 52 are jointed at the forward end by a transverse plate 54, including an upper section 56 which is rearwardly inclined at some slight angle from the vertical, as best indicated in FIGURE 1. The card deck support member 48 further comprises a bent or formed wire rod element 57 of generally U-shaped configuration, including a pair of legs 58, the legs being joined at the upper end by a transverse section 60. A generally U- shaped retaining plate 62 has curved ends 64 which overlie and contact the inner ends of the wire card deck support member 57. Both the rear wall 56 of the card deck pivot member 50 and the retaining plate 60 include aligned apertures, at the center thereof, to receive a bolt 66 which acts to couple the deck support element 57 to the card deck support pivot member 50. In this manner, the card deck support member 48 pivots about the horizontal axis formed by pins 46 on the shelf or slide member 34, while in general, retaining the card deck or stack in a position slightly inclined from the vertical, away from the point of card entry.

In order to initially present the first card on edge for positioning the incoming cards on the shelf or slide 34, inclined against the face of the deck support member 43, the vertically oriented, on-edge cards must be moved from a position in which the bottom edges thereof slide off the guide plate member 22 toward the card support member 48. The apparatus incorporates an oscillating, pusher member 68 having an upper stepped surface 70, with the steps declining from front to rear to provide a lowermost step 72, whose vertical height is slightly greater than that of card receiving surface 74 carried by slide 34. One or more card stops 75 are positioned adjacent the side of pusher member 68, whereupon the cards as they move forwardly in edge-abutting relation wit-h the pusher, must ride up and over the inclined face 76 ofstop member 75. The lower edge then falls downwardly onto surface 74 of the slide. Of course, the cards cannot then move backwards, at their bottom edges, since their lower surfaces abut the vertical end face of stop member 75. The natural movement of the series of cards as they change their orientation from flatwise to vertical and as they ride off of guide plate member 22 and the stepped pusher 68 is to continue to move forward and fall against the inclined deck support member 48 in the manner shown by the accumulated deck of cards 78. In so doing, the cards pass beneath the edge of card support member 16 contacting a tripping member 80 which is pivotally supported at 82. The tripping member 80 is spring-biased in the position shown to allow limited clockwise rotation so that the cards may freely move from front to rear or in a direction from right to left as shown in FIGURE 1. However, any tendency for the cards forming deck or stack 78 to fan backwards at the top and move past the vertical position to jam the incoming cards is prevented by the presence of tripping member 80. This member is prevented from rotating in a counterclockwise direction with the bottom rear surface of tip section 84 acting as a positive stop for the upper edge surface of the cards forming the stack 7 8.

The means for effecting oscillation, in a horizontal direction, of pusher member 68 is not shown but may conventionally comprise a rotating eccentric.

The present invention is directed to an arrangement for increasing the angle of the deck support member 48 from the vertical as stack 78 increases in size and moves forwardly from the position shown against the bias of tension spring 38. The bottom rear surface of the card deck support pivot member 59 is struck out to form a cam follower roller supporting plate 86, FIGURE 2. The plate 86 is apertured and receives a cam follower roller supporting pin 88, the pin acting as a mount to allow the cam follower roller 90 to rotate about its horizontal axis on the pivoted bracket support member 50.

In the form of the invention shown in the drawings, the base member or plate 12 has coupled thereto, a removable, elongated cam member 92 having an upper, forwardly inclined cam surface 94 upon which the cam follower roller 90 rides. Thus, the cam follower roller 90 and the cam surface 94 define the angle of inclination of the pivoted card deck support bracket 50 and its card deck support member 48. In this respect, the elongated cam member 92 includes a locating tab 96 which passes through aperture 98 formed within the base plate 12. A second L-shaped tab 100 passes through opening 102 in the same base plate. At the extreme rear end of the cam member 92, there is provided a flattened lip 104 receiving a screw 106 allowing the cam member 92 to be threadedly secured to the base plate 12 by means of a threaded aperture 108 after insertion of tabs 96 and 100 within their respective plate openings.

It is obvious that in the operation of the device, as the card deck slide moves forwardly against the bias of tension spring 38, under the accumulation of cards, the cam surface 94 presents a varying angle of inclination to the cam follower roller 90. As the slide carrying the bracket pivot pin 46 moves forwardly, the pivot axis for the bracket member 52 remains fixed, While the support axis for the cam follower roller 9t rotates in a counterclockwise direction following the declining cam surface 94. With the card deck support member in its most rearward position, the cam follower roller 90 rests on an almost horizontal surface, but as the slide moves outwardly against the bias of spring 38, the surface declines at an increasingly sharper rate to compensate for the increased size of the deck being formed by the accumulated cards. Thus, the fan-out which inherently is present at the top of the deck is still insuflicient to move the last received card of the deck past the vertical position, thereby preventing jamming of the card receiving receptacle. The wedgeshaped cam surface tapers downward, and as the slide moves away from the transport, the cam follower roller riding on the cam allows the deck support member 48 to fall backwards by an amount depending upon the slope of the cam and the distance from the transport. Obviously, by changing the slope or contour of the cam surface, any rate of change with respect to the distance from the transport may be accomplished, depending upon machine type requirement.

It is important to note that the cards do not merely move as a stack or deck down and inclined plane, but rather, the deck pivots about a point slightly below the deck contact with the slide. In such a structure, more cards could be accumulated in a stack prior to jamming the receptacle, since a larger fan-out at the top could be accommodated. In the present apparatus, the angle is changed at a rate which varies according to the distance that the deck support or retainer is relative to the card transport. Thus, the angular distance moved by the outer end of the deck retaining member remains approximately the same as the increased thickness of the deck due to the fan-out which increases away from the point of pivot. Secondly, if the document support merely moved down an inclined plane, the capacity of the stacker would be reduced, while this is not true in the stacker using the present invention wherein the angle of the deck support or retainer is merely changed while the base moves in a straight path.

It is noted, in the embodiment shown, that cam member 92 constitutes an independent element positioned centrally of the slide allowing ready replacement of the cam member to change the particular rate of angle inclination as the slide moves away from the transport. Changing the diameter of cam follower roller 90 will change the initial angle of inclination of card deck support member 48 only. For maximum simplicity, it may be desirable to taper the entire base plate 12 and allow the cam follower roller 90 to ride off the bottom of the pocket. Alternatively, it may be desirable to form the cams into the base plate itself, either as a tapered groove or a tapered ridge.

The cam follower in the illustrated embodiment consists of a roller mounted for rotation about an axis on the deck support pivot bracket. The roller provides a minimum frictional load to the slide; however, the roller could be eliminated and the cam follower in a most simplified manner would then comprise a fixed contact surface carried directly by the mounting bracket.

From the above, it is seen that a variable angled card deck support for the improved stacking device of the present invention prevents card jamming in the stacker receptacle as a result of card deck fan-out by simply varying the angle of inclination of the deck support member depend ing upon the size of the stack or deck of cards. The stacker is thus capable of operating relatively free from jamming at a high rate of speed, and the means for preventing jamming will operate effectively regardless of the type of card or the volume of punched information carried thereby. The mechanism for accompanying this purpose is relatively simple in construction and offers extreme ease in adjustment with maximum reliability while requiring little maintenance.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a stacking device for cards or the like including a receptacle having a vertical card receiving channel and a base member at the bottom thereof, and means within said receptacle for supporting said dropped cards vertical- 1y on edge on said base member at a slight angle away from the direction of card entry, the improvement comprising: means for increasing the angle of inclination of said card deck as said card deck increases in size.

2. The stacking device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said deck supporting means comprises a slide movable horizontally on said base, and said device further includes an inclined, vertical, deck retaining member carried by said slide and movable therewith, and means carried by said slide and responsive to movement of said slide away from the point of card entry for increasing the angle of inclination of said vertical deck retaining member with respect to said slide.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 further including: means for pivotally supporting said deck retaining member on said slide, cam means fixed to said base and cam follower means carried by said deck retaining member, in contact with said cam means to cause said deck retaining means to increase its angle of inclination from the vertical as said slide is moved away from the point of card entry.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said cam follower means comprises a roller, and wherein said cam means comprises an elongated wedge fixed to said base member with its upper face forming a cam surface which tapers away from said point card entry, and means for rotatably supporting said cam follower roller on said deck retaining member forwardly of said stack retaining member pivot whereby the angle of inclination of said stack retaining member increases as said slide moves forward with increasing stack size.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4 wherein the diameter of said cam follower roller is varied to change the initial angle of inclination of said stack retaining member with respect to said slide.

6. In a stacking device for cards or the like including a receptacle having a vertical card receiving channel and a base member at the bottom thereof and means within said receptacle for moving said dropped cards to a vertical onedge position, the improvement comprising: a springbiased slide for supporting said cards in stacked form in a generally vertical position, a bracket member pivotably supported on said side at the end of said slide remote from said point of card entry, a deck support member fixed to said bracket member for retaining said card stack in a rearwardly vertical position inclined slightly in a rearward direction, cam means carried by said base member and extending longitudinally in the direction of slide travel, said cam means having a cam surface which is inclined downwardly away from the point of card entry, and cam follower means fixed to said bracket member and movable on said slide relative to said cam surface for increasing the angle of inclination of said stack support member with increasing stack size.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,964,314 12/1960 Fiehl 271-86 3,052,468 9/1962 Cutaia et al. 271-71 3,066,933 12/1962 Fiehl 271-'87 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A STACKLING DEVICE FOR CARDS OR THE LIKE INCLUDING A RECEPTACLE HAVING A VERTICAL CARD RECEIVING CHANNEL AND A BASE MEMBER AT THE BOTTOM THEREOF, AND MEANS WITHIN SAID RECEPTACLE FOR SUPPORTING SAID DROPPED CARDS VERTICALLY ON EDGE ON SAID BASE MEMBER AT A SLIGHT ANGLE AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION OF CARD ENTRY, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: MEANS FOR INCREASING THE ANGLE OF INCLINATION OF SAID CARD DECK AS SAID CARD DECK INCREASE IN SIZE. 